Righteous Kill

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Righteous Kill

R

2008

1h 40m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

18%

Tomatometer

146 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Detectives Thomas Cowan (Robert De Niro) and David Fisk (Al Pacino), 30-year veterans of the NYPD, investigate the murder of a pimp. The crime resembles a case they solved many years earlier. As the body count rises, they realize they're dealing with a vigilante taking over when the police fail. The similarities between past and present crimes leads the detectives to wonder if they put the wrong man behind bars.

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Critics Consensus

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro do their best to elevate this dowdy genre exercise, but even these two greats can't resuscitate the film's hackneyed script.

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Joshua Katzman

Chicago Reader

This thriller by Jon Avnet is mostly by the numbers, and its surprise ending, though effective, feels somewhat forced.

Dec 9, 2008

Full Review

Jason Matloff

Boston Globe

Say it ain't so, Bobby and Al.

Rated: 1.5/4

Oct 18, 2008

Full Review

Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

There's nothing righteous about this tired and tiresome good cop/bad cop NYPD procedural from Avnet; in fact, it's pretty much an abomination from the get-go.

Rated: 1/5

Oct 18, 2008

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Given the downright sloppiness of the storytelling and squashed hopes that De Niro and Pacino might electrify the screen again, Righteous Kill is hugely disappointing.

Rated: 1/4

Jun 5, 2024

Full Review

Emiliano Basile

EscribiendoCine

…the only thing these Oscar-ized actors are looking for is a paycheck. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/10

May 11, 2022

Full Review

Jason Best

What's On TV

De Niro and Pacino back together but firing blanks.

Nov 20, 2020

Full Review

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Farah R.

With two household names in the lead, one would expect this to be a better movie. Righteous Kill is incoherent and downright boring. Pacino and DiNero were both shockingly bad, and the plot twist ending came outta nowhere.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

10/18/25

Full Review

Brian G

Some top notch acting performances from both De Niro & Pacino and a much better film than the ratings suggest.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/29/25

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Stephen C

Success in 1 hour and 40 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated R for Pervasive Language, Brief Drug Use, Some Sexuality and Violence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $40,100,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/20/25

Full Review

Sean S

With two legends leading this billing you would expect at least an average movie but that just isn't the case. This movie should be much better than it is.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/20/25

Full Review

Filippos S

I think we were all expecting a better film from this duo. A fairly mediocre film.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

04/13/25

Full Review

Lois H

I actually liked this movie and am waiting to watch it again. However, I've been waiting an awfully long time. Frankly the reviews are overly critical or they themselves have seen to many cop stories. That said, I remember being in awe when the truth comes out and I also worry if the good guy ever gets out of the jam he's ultimately in. Of course I went into the movie fresh, and not really looking for a twist until apparently I missed all the clues.. But honestly I got all the ups and downs and the surprises and horror the Director hopes to invoke in the viewer. So frankly, I need to see this again to understand why it was given so many "worse than mediocre" reviews. And I remember liking the banter the two have early on in the film.. hmm. Was I that bored or were you guys expecting too much??

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/28/24

Full Review

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Detective David Fisk

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Synopsis

Detectives Thomas Cowan (Robert De Niro) and David Fisk (Al Pacino), 30-year veterans of the NYPD, investigate the murder of a pimp. The crime resembles a case they solved many years earlier. As the body count rises, they realize they're dealing with a vigilante taking over when the police fail. The similarities between past and present crimes leads the detectives to wonder if they put the wrong man behind bars.

Director: Jon Avnet
Producer: Avi Lerner, Jon Avnet, Randall Emmett, Lati Grobman, Alexandra Milchan
Screenwriter: Russell Gewirtz
Distributor: Overture Films
Production Co: Emmett/Furla Films, Millennium Films
Rating: R (Pervasive Language|Brief Drug Use|Some Sexuality|Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 27, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $40.1M
Runtime: 1h 40m

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